Mondstadt—one of the oldest nation in Teyvat—had already stood for more than 2,600 years. Under Barbatos' guidance, the people built Mondstadt City atop Cider Lake, forming a fortress that was easy to defend and hard to defend.
"Tsk, tsk… Barbatos actually had decent military vision back then. Monsters can't swim, and even if another nation tried to invade, Mondstadt could just blow up this bridge and sit tight behind the water barrier."
Su Bai raised his head, taking in the ancient city. The weight of history made him pause. In Liyue, walls like these were rare—mostly because Rex Lapis was strong enough that no one dared to invade in the first place. Who needs walls when your Archon is basically a walking fortress?
Rahhhhh!
(TL Note: They used "Ang~" in the original text, but that sounds kinda weird, so I changed it.)
A roar tore through his thoughts. In the distance, a black speck rapidly approached Mondstadt. Inside the city, already-tense citizens immediately scattered into "safe spots" with practiced precision. Clearly, Stormterror had been terrorizing Mondstadt quite a lot lately.
"If I remember right… that should be Dvalin, yeah? What happened to him? Did Barbatos send him for… sterilization or something?"
"Even when Kazuha took his friend's little white cat in for neutering, the poor thing wasn't this angry."
Unlike the crowd fleeing for safety, Su Bai calmly watched the dragon descend. Confident in his own strength, he wasn't in a rush to hide.
"Dragon tendons must be incredibly nourishing, right? Maybe I should negotiate with Barbatos. If he hands over Dvalin's tendon, we can call our past grudges even."
He rubbed his chin, evaluating the business potential. After a moment, he decided punching Barbatos would be far more satisfying. A man must not abandon his principles for mere profit, after all.
…Although, if Barbatos willingly handed over the dragon tendon, Su Bai wouldn't mind hitting him less hard.
"Wait—if Dvalin is out wreaking havoc, this might be the best time to rent a house in Mondstadt! Let's see what prime locations are still available."
After a round of fierce haggling, Su Bai secured a beautifully located house for nearly a cabbage-price. The landlord's pained expression made it clear Su Bai had scored a massive bargain.
Rahhhh!!
Dvalin's pained roar echoed again. Su Bai frowned slightly. Even though he and Barbatos had a deep grudge, hearing Dvalin's miserable cries stirred a hint of curiosity.
"Oh, so Barbatos is just committing domestic violence. Then it's fine."
Seeing a blond girl in the sky using Barbatos' power to thoroughly thrash Dvalin, Su Bai calmly closed the window and headed toward Angel's Share. Time to taste Mondstadt's specialties.
"Seriously… when did gods beating their own followers become normalized? In Liyue, Boss Ruotuo gets beaten by Rex Lapis; here, Dvalin gets smacked around by Barbatos. Does that mean, in Inazuma, Ei is going to beat Yae next?"
"No, no, no. I need to visit Inazuma sometime and kidnap Yae home. Seeing how hard Barbatos is beating Dvalin, that old woman Ei might hit too hard and injure Yae."
Lost in thoughts of "rescuing" Yae Miko, Su Bai followed the scent of dandelion wine and apples until he reached Angel's Share. Dawn Winery really knew what they were doing—the aroma alone was worth praise.
"Yo, a new face. Wanna hear some poetry? Just one cup of apple cider."
A bard leaning by the door waved at him. Su Bai narrowed his eyes at the ragged-looking man—then a mischievous idea emerged.
"As a bard, how's your skill?"
"Hah! Sir, you're asking the right person. I, Six-Fingered Jose, am the finest bard in all of Mondstadt! Care to hear a tune?"
Su Bai shook his head slowly, as though unconvinced.
"You? The best bard?"
"Yes."
"Really?"
"Yes."
Jose plucked his lyre, producing a deliberately sorrowful chord. With a face full of story, he said:
"Ah… back then, I was still young."
Su Bai glanced at Jose's completely beardless face. So he was already Mondstadt's best bard back when he was a toddler?
"…Then it's not you."
"You're saying the best bard in Mondstadt isn't me?"
"Nope."
Jose's fingers froze. The fake melancholy evaporated instantly. Clearly, he'd pulled this routine many times.
"I mean—of course it's not me. Ever since that little green-hat brat of a bard arrived, he's hogged the top spot. My business has plummeted!"
Su Bai didn't interrupt. That idiot Barbatos, annoying as he was, was the second-oldest Archon. His stories were bound to be captivating. Being Mondstadt's best bard made sense.
"Here's the deal. I've got a way for you to make money. If you accept, this pouch of Mora is yours."
He slapped the pouch onto the table. Jose's eyes widened instantly. The nearby patrons snickered at his eager expression, but Jose didn't care—he grinned shamelessly.
"Money's money. No shame in earning it."
"My request is simple. Next time you see that green-hat bard, put a bag over his head and deliver him to my house. I live at—"
"Don't worry, I just want to talk about the past with him. No one's going to die. I'm a law-abiding fox."
Hearing that only seemed to make Jose more nervous, but the bag of Mora was too tempting. After some internal struggle, he grabbed it.
"Lemme warn you first—the guy has a Vision. Don't come crying after he beats you senseless."
Su Bai snorted and slapped his own Vision onto the table—a purple Electro Vision.
"This thing. Will it let me stay standing?"
"It will. Definitely will."
"Yeah… but I'll probably have to kneel to earn this Mora. Hopefully that brat hits lightly when I meet him."
Su Bai didn't believe Barbatos would ever hurt one of his own people, so he ignored Jose's attempt to sneak more payment out of him.
"The contract is sealed. Those who break it shall face the punishment of stone."
Since a contract was formed, Su Bai wasn't worried about Jose running off with the money. Jose waved him off, telling Su Bai to wait for good news.
"One Dandelion Wine, please."
"Sir, I'm afraid you won't be drinking anything today. We received a report that you're involved in hiring someone to commit assault. Please come with us."
Su Bai stared blankly as two Knights of Favonius grabbed him by the arms. Stormterror was attacking—why weren't the Knights protecting civilians? Why send two of them to arrest him?
From the counter, Diluc calmly put the Dandelion Wine back and also kindly "safeguarded" the Mora Su Bai had left behind.
"Looks like Charles was pretty fast. Called the Knights over in no time."
"A Liyue fox coming to Mondstadt at a time like this… no matter your intentions, I'm going to find out exactly why you're here."
With Diluc's influence, even if Su Bai hadn't discussed kidnapping Venti in front of him, he still would've assigned people to watch Su Bai. He needed time to investigate the fox's true motive.